Keratoconus

keratoconusKeratoconus is an eye condition that causes the cornea to spontaneously bulge outward, like the tip of a rugby ball. It causes very high levels of myopia and astigmatism. See Eye Diseases – Keratoconus. is a degenerative condition of the corneaThe cornea is the clear, transparent 'front window' of the eye through which light enters the eye. It handles about two-thirds of the focusing power of the eye and is critical for good vision. See Info on Eyes – Anatomy., which causes it to thin and bulge into a conical shape.  This leads to high levels of astigmatism, myopiamyopia is also known as nearsightedness. It results from an eye that is larger in size compared to a normal sized eye and/or a cornea that is relatively too steep, causing the image to focus in front of the retina instead of on the retina itself. See Info on Eyes, Optics and Refractive Errors - myopia. and higher order aberrations.

Correction with spectacles and contact lenses become increasingly difficult while the disorder progresses, as the corneal curvature becomes highly irregular, leading to distorted vision.

Treatment options

• Spectacles (only beneficial for a limited time in most cases).
• Hard contact lenses.
• Corneal collagen cross-linking with Riboflavin.
• ICRSAn intra-corneal ring segment, commercially available as a Keraring or INTACS..
• Toric Phakic IOLs.
• Corneal transplant (DALKDALK is the acronym for Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty. It is one of the lamellar techniques used for cornea transplants. See Cornea Centre – Techniques., mushroom PKMushroom PK is an abbreviation for 'Mushroom Lamellar Keratoplasty'. It is one of the lamellar techniques used for cornea transplants. See Cornea Centre – Techniques. and PKPPKP is the acronym for Penetrating Keratoplasty. It is one of the techniques used for cornea transplants. See Cornea Centre – Techniques.).